Adjustable window-screen



F. C. MILLER. ADJUSTABLE WINDOW SCREEN.

V//I//MY/I/ UNrrnn STA-'rss PATENT @Frisia FRANK C. MILLER, OF EASTON,PENNSYLVANIA.

ADJUSTABLE WINDOW-SCREEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 543,261, dated July 23,1895.

Application filed January 4, 1895. Serial No. 533.856. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, FRANK C. MILLER, a citizen of theUnited States,residing at Easton,

in the county of Northampton and State of' Pennsylvania, have inventedcertain new andvslidably fitted to the ends of the screen-frame,

and which panels are normally pressed away from the screen--framebytension-springs, and the outward movement of which slidable panels islimited by stop devices.

The object that I have in view in the present invention is to produce astrong and simple screen of few parts, which can be manufactured at'alow price, and to provide improved devices whereby the user canconveniently and readily adjust and handle the screen, either to placeit in or remove it from the window-frame.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the combination, witharigid frame l having the usualscreen-wire attached thereto which passloosely through the central open` 4 l so and provided in'its end railsvwith transverse centrally-disposed openings or passages, of slidablepanels fitted to the ends of the screenframe toslide thereon, twocentral pull-bars,

ings in the end rails of the screen-frame, having their outer endsrigidly fastened to the slidable panels and provided at their inner endswith iinger-pieces, which extend at right angles to the Shanks of thepull-bars and thus lie at right angles to the wire fabric from whichsaid finger-pieces extend, whereby the operator is enabled to easilygrasp the pullbars, the central arrangement of which Vbars to the frameenables the screen to be easily balanced in the hands of the operatorfor the purpose of conveniently adjusting the screen to or removing itfrom the window-frame,

, springs which normally force the slidable my invention.

panels away from the end rails of the frame, and stops to limit theoutward `movement of said slidable panels.

My invention further consists in the combination, with a rigid screenedframe and slidable panels constructed with closed sides and outer endsto leave the inner'ends of said panels open for the receptionof the endsof the screened frame, of stop-rods attached to the slidable panels 'atpoints within the top and bottom rails of the screened frame and ttedbetween the closed sides of the end panels and the end rails of saidscreened frame, so as to be housed and protected by the closed rsides ofthe slidable panels, with which said stop-rods are movable, the innerends of said fstop-rods terminating usli with the inner edges of theclosed sides of the slidable panels, and said inner ends of thestop-rods bent to form lugs, in the path of which lie the end rails ofthe screen-frame, so that the lugs on th'e stop-rods will abut againstthe end rails of the frame to limit the outward movement of saidslidable panels, the central pull-bars attached to the slidable panels,and coiled springs fitted on the pull-bars and'bearing against theslidable panels and end rails of the rigid screen-frame.

The special arrangement of the stop-bars between the slidable panels andthe end rails l of the screen-frame, and each rod having one endattached to the panel and. its free end formed with a hook or lug totake against an end rail of the frame, produces a simpler and cheaperscreen than heretofore-consisting of fewer parts, hence cheaper tomanufac-k ture-and avoids recessing or slotting the horizontal rails ofthe screen-frame, 'which has heretofore been customary in order toaccommodate the stop-rods and the pins or studs with which the stop-rodsare designed to engag To `enable others skilled in the art to understandmy invention, I have shown the preferred embodiment thereof in theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of 'this specification, and inWhich- Figure 1 is an elevation looking at one side of a screenconstructed in accordance with Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view onthe plane indicated bythe dotted line w a: of Fig. l. Figs. 3 and 4 areenlarged IOO detail sectional views on the plane indicated by the dottedline y y of Fig. l, showing thev position of one slidable panel and onestoprod when the panel is drawn in toward the end rail of thescreen-frame and when it is forced out to its full limit away from thescreen-frame. Fig. 5 is a full-sized horizontal sectional view similarto Fig. 2, in order to clearly illustrate the pull-bar and the spring,together with a part of the screen-frame and the slidable panel.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figuresof the drawings.

The screen-frame A consists of the end rails 0L a and the top and bottomrails b b, which are suitably joined together in a strong and rigidmanner. Over this frame is stretched the usual woven-wirefabric B, whichhas its edges confined between the rails a b of the frame A and thecleats or strips b', which are laid upon and fastened to the frame A.

O D denote the slidable panels, which are fitted to the ends of theframe to inclose the rails a at thereof and to slide freely over thesame. Each panel is made in the form of a boxing or housing, andconsists of two side pieces c c and an end piece c, which is fittedbetween and fastened to the side pieces c c', whereby the panel has twoclosed sides and one closed end, while the other end of the panel isleft open to receive the end of the screen-frame. The length of thepanel is equal to the width of the frame A, and the combined width ofthe two panels is such that the screen may be materially widened to litin window-frames which vary in width, but which window-frames exceed thewidth of the screen-frame A.

The space between the sides c c of the panel slightly exceeds thethickness of the end and side rails of the screen-frame, in order thatthe panelmay move freely over the end of the frame when it is desired toretract or pull the panel in toward the frame and also to permit thestop-bars E F to liebetween the slidable panels and the end rails of theframe A, whereby the stop-bars are coinbined with the frame and thepanels in a way to avoid cutting slots or recesses in the frame A, ashas been customary heretofore, but which practice is objectionable, asit not only involves additional machine work in the preparation of therails for the screen-frame, consequently adding to the cost ofmanufacture, but also involves a special construction of stop bar orplate and the use of pins or studs to co-operate with'said stop bar orplate.

In my screen the end and side rails are made from ordinary stock andwithout any additional work to prepare them for use in a screen, and thestop-bars E F are made from single lengths of wire or steel rod, whichare suitably bent into shape and attached in a simple way to the paneland arranged so as to act with the end rails a a to limit the outwarddisplacement of the panel. As stated,

each stop-bar is `cnt in suitable length from a piece of wire or rod,and one end is bent to form the panel-attaching prong e, while the otherend of the wire is bent at right angles to produce the stop lug or hookf. There are two of these stop-bars provided for each panel, and theyare attached to the panel near the ends thereof, but at points withinthe side rails b bof the screen, in order that the stop hooks or lugsfofthe bars may extend toward the screen fabric B and the end rails a a ofthe frame B may lie in the path of the hooks or lugsf to adapt thelatter to come in con- .tact with the inner edge of the end rail whenthe bars and panel are forced outward under the pressure of the coiledspring I. These stop-bars are thus arranged near the sides of the frame,within the side rails thereof, and between the pair of stop-bars foreach panel is arranged the pull-bar H, the latter being disposedcentrally with relation to the frame.

The stop-bars are fastened to one side c of the panel, and they extendalongside of and close to the side c ofthe panel, said bars passing overthe end rail a of the frame and having theirfree ends flush with orterminating within the sides of the panel, the hooks or lugsf extendingfrom the panel toward the screen fabric, in order that said lugs maytake or bear against the end rails of the frame, as has been explained.

Each pull-bar H, of which two are provided for the two slidable panels,is made in a single piece, with a plain smooth shank, a threadedattaching end h, and a right-angled fingerpiece h. The shank of thepullbar passes loosely through an aperture t' out in the center of theend rail a of frame A, and its threaded end h is screwed into the endpiece c of the IOO slidable panel. The finger-piece h extends at rightangles to the length of the pull-bar, and

when the bar is in position on the screen this finger-piece preferablyextends from the screen fabric toward the` operator, whereby thepull-bar can be firmly grasped between the linger and thumb of the handwithout the hand coming in contact with the screen fabric B. Thisfinger-piece is preferably in the form of abroad curved hook, as shownin the drawings, although it may be in the shape of a loop or eye whichstands at right angles to the length of the pull-bar and extends outfrom the screen fabric. These finger-pieces of the pull-bars can thus beeasily grasped by the operator to retract the panels C D toward thescreen frame A, and by having the pullbars disposed centrally withrelation to the frame A the screen is made to balance itself in thehands of the operator, thereby enabling both panels to be retracted atonce and the screen to be conveniently operated and adjusted to place itwithin, or take it from, the window-frame.

The springs I are of the coiled-wire variety, and they are tted looselyaround the plain smooth shanks of the pull-bars, one end of IIO i eachspring'bearing against a slidable panel and the other end of said springbearing against an end'rail a, of the screen-frame.

It will be noted that the stop-bars and the coiled springs arepractically housed entirely within the slidable panels C D, so that theparts are protected from injury by the panels themselves.

My improved screen, constructed as herein shown and described, possessesmany practical advantages over other screens in that a fewer number ofparts are necessary to produce a screen having all the advantages ofprior devices and the parts are arranged andl disposed to betteradvantage with a view to securing the necessary functions. It followsthat as a less number of parts are employed .the screen is simpler inconstruction and is cheaper to manufacture. At the same time the partsare not liableto get out of order and the screen is more durable andsatisfactory. Importance4 is'attached to the construction andorganization of the pull-bars as herein described, because the screen ismade to balance itself nicely in the hands of the operator and a verysecure hold can be obtained on the `finger-pieces of the pull-bars,which enables the screen to be lifted, held, and adj usted by simplygrasping the finger-,pieces with the hands. K

' In order that the advantage of my screen may be apparent in so far asits simplicity and' cheapness are concerned, I may state that in some ofthe prior screens which have been devised and placed on the market thereare no less'than sixteen (16) diiferent and distinct parts, while inrmyimproved screen there are only ten parts necessary to be made and as?semrbled together. The screen can thus be made and sold by themanufacturer at alower price than ordinary screens, and in addition Y tothe advantage to the manufacturer it is more convenient to the user inthat it is more easily adjusted than other screens, is less liable toget out of order, and more durable.

ybars fastened tothe panels and the inner free ends having hooks or lugsf that extend inwardly in the path of the end rails and abut against theinner edge thereof, the pull bars and pressure springs, substantially asand for the purposes described.

2. A window screen comprising a rigid.

frame having' the wire fabric, the box-like panels C, D, fitted to theends of said frame toinclose the end rails thereof, the central pullbars H passing loosely through the end rails of the frame, having theirouter endsfastened to the panels, and provided at their inner ends withthe right angled finger pieces that extend outward from the Wire fabric,the coiled springs fitted on said pull bars, and the pair of stop barsE, F, for each panel, which stop bars are disposed on opposite sides ofthe pull bar but within the side rails of the frame, and each stop barhaving a prong which .is fastened to the panel and said bar passingbetween the end rail of the frame vand one side of the box-like housing,and having at its free end a hook or lugf which extends toward thescreen fabric and is adapted to bear against the inner edge of the endrail of said frame, all arranged and combined substantially as and forthe purposes described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. FRANK C. MILLER. Vitnesses:

ROBERT J. RICHARDS, S. S. HORN.

